Kentucky made some important adjustments at halftime.
Kentucky pulled off a big statement win on Tuesday against No. 6 Duke in the Champions Classic, but it did not come easy. With the Wildcats down nine at halftime, Mark Pope and the staff needed to make some adjustments, and they did, especially on the defensive end of the ball.
That's exactly where Pope says the Wildcats improved on the most in that second half, saying they were much more dialed in on that end of the floor, mostly with switching on ball screens. "I think they had a really good sense on the defensive end. ...You know, we're not a team that gives up 46 points in the first half. We just don't do that. That's not our standard. That's not the way we play. I think the guys had addressed those issues by the time we got in the locker room.
"I thought Koby made some big time defensive plays. I thought he had some terrific defense, and there's space for him to grow. It's both. From him, we've got a bunch of film and a bunch of data about where he was really terrific, and some space where he can really just grow. I still think that he has more defensive game in the tank where he can continue to grow into an elite defender. He had some moments where he was really effective.
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